1. Nem hiszem, hogy kedves karakterem t�l koherensen (vagy szimpatikusan) viselkedne ebben a jelenetben. De mint v�ns�ges v�n pedag�gus, mindkett�h�z joga van, (vagy legal�bbis � �gy �rzi).

2. Enjoy. (Yes. English. Sry.) �s n�zz�tek el nekem a hib�kat, nehezebben j�v�k bele az irka-firk�ba, mint ahogyan eredetileg gondoltam.

(A 3.,4.,5. pontokat lsd. a v�g�n.)

1995. November. 17. 6 AM. Grimmauld Place, kitchen.

Lucy Dawlish is about to prepare her coffee.

Enter Old Lady…

’Who the flying fuck…?’ Lucy squeaked.

’Someone who once tried to translate the expression „flying fuck” to Hungarian, but got stuck with the question, whether „flying” was supposed to mean “quick”, or an actual, mid-air shag.’

The old lady smiled at Lucy kindly. ’Could you perhaps shed light on this for me?’

’Sirius….?’ Lucy just shy of screamed instead and reached for her wand.  ’Who are you?’

’Oh, yes. I am one of the burnt holes here, I think. Either me, or my dear late mother.’

’The holes where…? Merlin’s pants…’ Lucy started to move back to create some distance between herself and the lady, but she bumped into the counter.

’No, no dear child. If indeed there were holes in Merlin’s pants, I was most decidedly not one of them, nor do I wish to have been.’

She turned to the tall man entering the kitchen wand in hand.

’Hello, Sirius. I believe we have not been introduced, but I did so enjoy hearing about you. Zephyra Vaeltava.’ And she curtsied a little. (Actually, properly curtsied.)

He just stared in open shock.

’Vaeltava?’ But Lucy immediately noted that there was a shade of acknowledgement in his voice. To Sirius this name evidently meant something.

’The daughter of Androcles Vaeltava and Quia Black. Who also happens to be the illegitimate daughter of Elladora Black therefore your half-aunt…or something alike. My child, hearing about your dealings had made me despise the entire family a little less each time. Gave me a flicker of hope that not all sanity had gone from the bloodline.’

’I would not put my money on him being sane’, Lucy quipped, still keeping her fingers on her wand. ’What holes…?’

’You have that glorious tapestry upstairs. My mother, I believe, should be one of the holes…’

’No.’ Sirius spoke distantly, in a flat voice. ’Quia Black never made it there. Illegitimates never did.’

’Oh… That’s too bad. But I have a feeling I am going to be able to work myself through the disappointment somehow. Although I might need a bit of help…’

She stared expectantly at the pair before her, but after two entire minutes of no one speaking a word, she sighed and conjured three glasses and a bottle of golden liquid. Lucy, distracted as ever by details, noticed that it was a muggle brand, from Ireland. She also noticed that the conjuring happened without any spells or use of wand. Her grip tightened on her own weapon.

’Yes, darling. I prefer these over Odgen’s. Lifetime’s bad habits are hard to break…. I did not poison it.’ She smiled as she floated the glasses over to them. ’Although I probably would say the same thing if I did, so….’ She raised her glass and sipped a little from the liquid. ’Ahh… Better. Now…’

She turned to Sirius with a strikingly sad smile. Under thick layers of fright and shock, somewhere deep in some hidden recess of her mind, Lucy wondered how a smile could be so honestly, deeply sorrowful. ’I am so sorry about it. About all of it. Take good care of yourself now. But as much as I am into family reunions, I actually came to talk to your missus.’

’I am nobody’s….’ But the old lady cut in impatiently:

’Mrs. Graves wishes you a happy birthday, Ms Dawlish.’

’You came all the way from….Actually where did you come from?’

’Hungary.’

’Hungary?’ Lucy asked with significantly more enthusiasm than Brits normally displayed about Hungarians, and Sirius seemed tenser than ever.

’To answer your question… No. I am not an idiot, of course I would not just travel through half a continent to give birthday wishes to a teenager with a decidedly troublesome attitude.’ She snorted. ’I am an old lady. You did not even offer me a seat.’

’Then why did you come?’ This time it was Sirius who spoke, stepping a bit closer to the intruder.

’Nosy, are we now? My business is my own.’ She answered haughtily, her black bun bobbing comically on the top of her head.

’That makes the two of us, Madame.’ Lucy narrowed her eyes. ’I have no idea what relation you have with Aunt Rowan, but I thank her for the birthday wish… And I would like not to have anything to do with her in the future, thank you. ’

’Just how much you know about Mrs Graves?’ she asked quietly.

’Met her once. It was enough. I do not seem to have luck with family, you see…’

‘She knows nothing,’ Sirius said softly and Lucy snapped up her head. Something was off here, but before she could inquire, the lady spoke again.

‘I taught your mother, you know. And John too… I would not think of calling them the “bad kind” of family to have… Especially not in this house. You remind me a great deal, of John, by the way.’

She fixed her gaze on Lucy. ‘Lauren was infinitely more patient.'

(Lucy was not going to ask the thousand questions that exploded in her mind then, about her mom and her dad. She would not ask, because questions revealed more than confessions.)

‘Than again, you don’t know too much about me.... And you are not an adept judge of character.’ She hissed angrily.

‘Sometimes I am, sometimes I am not.’ She nodded, completely unperturbed, before Sirius cut in again.

‘Look, Madame… You don’t just come in here, and talk to Lucy like that… Actually… How did you come in here?’

‘You are not drinking.’ She shook her head instead of answering, and with a regretful sigh, finished her own drink in one gulp. ‘It is good though. Better than Odgen’s if you ask me.’

She stood up. ‘Had dear Lucy here tended a bit more to her family relations, you would have an idea of how… Alas, I don’t have time for explanations. Lucy dear, would you mind showing me out?’

‘Why don’t you leave exactly the way you came?’ Asked Sirius in a nasty voice, but the old lady just stared at them, absolutely unintimidated. And as Lucy caught her unblinking gaze, for a surreal moment she knew with utmost certainty that Sirius and this lady were truly related. And not because of the pitch black hair.

To break the tension, with sudden inspiration she said “of course” as sweetly as she could.

‘She might wish to get to know your dear mother.’ She smiled at Sirius. Blasted Grandma evidently needed a good lesson in Blacks…. But Zephyra only snorted at her.

‘That old bitch… Excuse the language, darling. Met her once, have no wish to repeat the exercise. I don’t spend my time with… stupid.’

There was just no turning back from this point, so Lucy clenched her teeth and gestured awkwardly towards the door, ignoring the fact that Sirius somehow managed to tense up some more. (It almost reached the John Dawlish level of tenseness.)

They walked gingerly, quietly in the hallway and Lucy noted how the lady seemed perfectly at ease in the house, as if she knew her way around. Straight before the door though, she turned back and those piercing eyes stared at her again, unnerving her.

‘Take good care of him.’ She turned away, then turned back once more. ‘I know I meddle a lot. But honey… Prejudice is a wonderful, useful tool to have when you are a teenager, alas…’

‘Alas suddenly I am not a teenager anymore?’ Lucy asked with venom. People just had no inclination to take her seriously unless they wanted something from her.

‘I’m not sure.’ Zephyra tilted her head. ‘But you don’t have the luxury to be one now. War is coming.’

‘My mother died in war, you know. I lost her…’ She had no idea, why she said that and this scared her more than anything that happened until this point. (Including the fact that a miserably fragile looking, tiny, positively ancient lady just finished at least 3 decilitres of whiskey before 6.15 AM and it seemed to have no effect on her, whatsoever.)

‘That is truly, sad….’ The intruder dropped her gaze. ‘I lost my family, my home… And my entire country in war…’ She added, in an chillingly cheerful tone.

‘Take care of Sirius, dear. And read up on Mr and Mrs Graves.’

And (as if forgetting how one is supposed to open gates before exiting them) she walked through the ironed wooden door like it was made of thin air.

3. pont: Zephyra Phineas Nigellus portr�j�n kereszt�l tud k�zelekedni. Meg m�g egy csom� minden m�son is. Ne k�rdezz�tek, hogyan, Eddigre el�gg� anyagtalann� v�lik a vil�g k�r�l�tte... Ezt a sztori legelej�n nem akartam lel�ni. (Rowan�kn�l Amerik�ban van Nigellus portr�. Szerintem.)

4.pont: Picit... Sz�val meg f�nfiks�n�ltem a f�nfiks�n�t�ket, sok helyen szerintem meglehet�sen szabadon �rtelmezve a karatereiteket. Ez�rt szorri.

5.pont: Sirius az �n �rtelmez�sem szerint pontosan tudja, hogy kicsoda Zephyra Vaeltava �s Quia Black. �s m�g enn�l is jobban tudja, hogy kicsoda Rowan �s Percival Graves.